Anwar Al-Awlaki

Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Anwar al-Awlaki is a Muslim scholar of Yemeni heritage born in New Mexico. He served as an Imam in California, and later in the Washington, D.C. area where he headed the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center and was also the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University. In 2004 he returned to his native Yemen where he taught at Eman university until his arrest in mid 2006. Imam Anwar was released from custody on the 12th of December 2007 having spent a year and a half behind bars. In his first interview since his release, conducted by former Guantanamo Detainee and cageprisoners spokesman Moazzam Begg, he spoke about the conditions of his detention and shared his reflections on his time in prison.